Quite a Handful
by Dark Seraphim
Summary: Post-Dirge of Cerberus. Weiss gets to deal with his new situation and a new "brother". Genesis gets to deal with brothers who prove to be both interesting and well, quite a handful.
1. The grateful one

Notes: Believe it or not, this fic was inspired by the movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Or rather, it simply "came out of nowhere" while I was watching the movie. Then, I decided to pepper this story with a whole bunch of other references that may be jarring to some readers(see if you can spot them). This won't be an epic fic since I haven't the faintest idea of what would be happening after Dirge of Cerberus. It'll be little more than just three people confronting each other about what happened, what is going on, and where to go from there.

--

Weiss found himself sitting against a rocky wall, too busy trying to figure out just where, how, and when he ended up where he was. His last memory included falling from Omega Weapon to depths he never had the chance to fathom. He remembered feeling high speed air blow through his hair and body, but he couldn't get enough of his bearings to figure out just what the hell was going on. He just felt like sleeping, but then he remembered a mysterious voice.

"It is not yet time for slumber, there is work to be done, my brother."

Weiss wanted to be absorbed into the rocks, but contented himself with simply breathing in the cool night air. He felt barely alive, and really wanted to sleep. Work was a word that never scared Weiss, but he didn't feel like doing much of anything in the present time. He didn't give a damn about the moon slightly obscured by the clouds and he wasn't even sure if he even cared about the person who carried him from the Midgar caverns. He remembered that person, but felt nothing. Sure, they were now 'brothers', but that word only meant something to him if his brother's name was Nero. This mysterious person wasn't Nero.

Weiss closed his eyes. "Nero..." He could sense his younger brother inside of him, and he could even see him in the shadows, lying down, silently breathing. Down, but nowhere near out. Weiss managed a little smile, but still felt his chest tighten.

"Nero..."

"So, you're finally awake."

Weiss looked toward the source of the voice, known as "G". He knew him as Genesis. /Now you show up after all this time/. He remained silent, but he stood up and managed to take a few steps toward the Midgar Cliff that overlooked the ruined city. Things looked a little too bright down there, but Weiss thought nothing of it. He stood behind Genesis and eyed the red coat.

"Infinite in mystery is the Gift of the Goddess--"

Weiss tensed. "Don't spout that shit at me, or I'll tear your tongue out and shove it up your ass!"

Genesis slowly turned around, a sneer marring his pretty face. "Aren't you the grateful one this fine night."

Weiss narrowed his eyes. "Look, I just got my ass beat by a guy who probably hasn't changed his underwear in thirty-three years, I spent who knows how many hours plastered on a rock thinking that I was dead yet again, my brother lives inside me, but I'll be lucky if he wakes up next week." He took a few quick steps toward Genesis, really wanting to knock his head off, but did his damndest to restrain himself. "My dream machine is back swimming in the Lifestream, I just got through being mind fucked by the most disgusting human being to ever crawl on the face of this planet and", he pointed at his flattened white hair, "the icing on this gigantic shit cake is that my hair is a mess!" He clenched his fist. "Fuck! My life is a mess, every single thing about me right now is a mess. I am tired, I am sore, and I am pissed off, so kindly excuse me for not exactly being thankful!"

"That's enough!" Genesis snapped. His bright blue eyes glittered with a silent warning. "I get it! I don't like losing anymore than you do, but this isn't a contest, so I'll spare you the details of my own struggles."

"Oh, your struggles." Weiss rolled his eyes. As far as he was considered Genesis's struggles couldn't possibly have compared to his, and above all, Nero's.

Genesis sighed. "All right, so I shouldn't have been so flippant with you, but I don't appreciate being shown disrespect either. Do you understand me, little brother?"

Little brother. Weiss sucked in his breath. Not because of actually being considered "little brother", but because those two words put Nero back in his mind. Still, he nodded, and stood beside Genesis. He looked down for his weapons and sighed when he found them gone. "Great. My weapons are gone."

"So are mine," Genesis half-smiled. "We'll get them back soon enough". Booming fireworks lit the sky with the very colors that represented Deepground's elite. Weiss didn't know whether to laugh or explode, but Genesis solved the problem with light chuckling. "A celebration, I see. I don't blame them."

"They'll celebrate over anything," Weiss replied, looking everywhere around him. For years, he usually didn't see more than stone, lights, and metal. He remembered Nero talking about how things looked better from above. Weiss shook his head. "Just a little while ago, the World Wide Network came back up and they partied like it was nineteen-ninety-nine."

"Heh. Really?"

"Yup, but then..." Weiss looked away, wanting desperately to forget what happened to him, at least for sometime.

Genesis raised an eyebrow. "Then?"

"Then...Deepground decided to crash and throw a party of their own." He couldn't say anything else, and he had to be honest, he didn't want to, especially not to someone he barely knew, 'brother' or not.

"A long story, I'm sure." Genesis took a step closer to Weiss. "But, don't worry, you don't have to say much more right now. Looks like you need some slumber, after all."

"It won't be the first thing I'll be doing though," Weiss answered, looking back at the festive destruction. Even from afar, he could see that many people danced around and did gods knew what else. "There has to be at least a few dumb shits down there drunk on their asses and thinking they're as powerful as I am. I should be able to get what I need from some of them pretty easily."

"No. I know you're desperate, but don't. I'll handle it. I'll find a place you can rest." Genesis hugged himself when the clouds obscured part of the moon. "I've been slumbering enough, but I'm still a bit wet and that needs to be remedied."

"Hmph. I need to get wet." Weiss grumbled. "But, when we find a place to stay, the first thing I'm going to do is take the biggest dump of my entire life. Then, I'm going to shower so much that I'll flood the entire room. Finally, I'm going to crack open my skull and scrub every inch of my brain because if there is one thing I hate more than inefficiency, it's being unclean." He grit his teeth, feeling a whole lot of things, but he felt unclean first and foremost.

"I see," Genesis nodded, understanding completely. "I'm not surprised."

"They didn't call me "the Immaculate" because they felt like it."

"Which, by the way, is ironic, considering that you have the mouth of a sewer."

Weiss glared. "Gee, maybe I should wash my mouth out with soap too."

"Don't worry." the older man replied, his hands held up in a gesture of de-escalation. He looked more than pretty when he smiled. "I'm not innocent in that regard." His smiled faded just a little and he now looked curious. "Mind fucked? I guess that means possessed?"

"You can say that." The former Emperor didn't see the need to say much more. He had a feeling that he'd be with "G" for quite some time. Weiss only hoped that he didn't have to carry out the tongue threat.

"Who?"

"Hojo."

Genesis's lips parted. He looked like a loved one just punched him in the gut. "Goddess..." His hair fell over his face. "My condolences."

Weiss simply shrugged. "Thanks, but right now, I just want to get the hell away from here. Let them all keep thinking that I'm dead. I certainly feel that way right about now." /If I could just get clean/.

"There has to be at least a few dumb monsters around thinking they're as powerful as I am." Genesis spread out his arms, and a black wing materialized out of his left shoulder.

Weiss's blue eyes widened. "So, that's how I ended up here." He laughed quietly, but he could hear the bitterness in his own voice. He honestly didn't mind being carried out of the Midgar depths, he just wished that Nero did it. Genesis would never replace Nero. Ever.

However, both 'brothers' proved to be right. Not only were there dumb monsters, there were also a few travelers who had gotten too drunk and curious for their own good. Even though he felt like shit, Weiss made sure that the monsters felt worse before they felt nothing at all. As for Genesis, he proved a little too merciful for Weiss's taste as he simply knocked the people out from the air, but at least he took what was necessary.

"If I had my way, I'd rip the nuts off of half the populace," Weiss stated while he walked beside Genesis down the path that led away from the cliff. He wore a whiskey scented cloak over his bare chest "So, they don't contaminate the world with their filth."

"If," Genesis repeated. "If." He shook his head while counting the gil he took.

Weiss knew exactly what he meant, but decided not to pursue it too much. "I'd say 'when', but it's too late to think that way now."

"Is Kalm still around?"

Weiss frowned. "What? Uhm..." He had heard of Kalm while underground, but all he knew before the virus or rather-no, took his life, was that it would most certainly be attacked. "Honestly, I don't know. Deepground spares no one, and my brother is ruthless when he's pissed, so it wouldn't surprise me if it were little more than a pile of rubble."

Genesis pocketed the gil and held his arms out. "There's only one way to find out."

"You're kidding, right?" Weiss bristled at the idea of being carried around like a helpless princess.

"Come on." Genesis grinned, his blue eyes glowing a little too brightly for Weiss's comfort. "You didn't mind when I took you out of the cavern."

"I didn't have much of a choice."

The grin widened. "You don't have much of one now."

--

Kalm wasn't rubble, but it was also wasn't exactly a solid looking town either. Neither SOLDIER had any doubt that there was death and lots of it. As they went into town, they say even more dancing people, music, and much joy in spite of all that happened. Weiss couldn't help but shake his head.

"Like I said," he muttered to Genesis, "they'd party over anything."

"I guess it already is nineteen-ninety nine." The other SOLDIER answered, his wing long gone with he himself obscured by a long, dark coat.

At least one inn managed to stay open, and Weiss took care to look as unnoticeable as possible. He felt thankful that Genesis had a similar idea. No one asked any questions, which suited Weiss just fine because he didn't feel like telling any lies. As soon as they entered the room, Weiss ignored everything, except for the door that led to the bathroom.

"I'll be heading out for a bit," Genesis announced as he stood in front of the bed. "I'm going to ask around to see what's been going on."

Weiss grasped the door, wanting nothing more than to be alone. "Frankly, Scarlet, I don't give a damn. Not now. Maybe later."

"Nice, and I'm--"

A quick door slam shut up anything the older "brother" wanted to say. Sure, it was disrespectful, but Weiss simply didn't care. He leaned against the door, taking deep breaths, and clenching his teeth when he saw Nero still sleeping.

"Nero..."

Weiss wanted to just slide down, sit on the floor and just do nothing more than wait for Nero to wake up, so he could speak to him, enter his own consciousness, and just hold his little brother. But, he couldn't. He had work to do.


	2. Under a rock

_Author's Note: I simply couldn't believe that Genesis knew much of anything after being sealed away. Unless he was being fed information constantly, he had to have been "kept in the dark" for the most part. I know that the future video game starring him would be different, but I'd find it implausible that Genesis would come out of being sealed underground knowing everything. Besides, I always loved the "exploration"/"questions" part of games/books/movies. This chapter proved rather difficult since I was at a loss of what exactly to put down. The later ones shouldn't be much of a problem. I hope not._

_---  
_

Genesis did say that work needed to be done, but he never said what or how it would be done. He couldn't afford to lie anymore--he had no clue what to do, except gather as much information as possible about what in the Goddess happened in the past several years. All he knew was that he finally defeated his demons, and that he was ready to be a real hero for the Planet. People walked right past him, not recognizing him. For once, he felt relieved that people didn't know who he was. Years ago, it would have been a huge blow to his ego. Now? He just shrugged, knowing full well that anonymity has its advantages.

"How long has it been?" He whispered, stopping in the middle of a square full of ruined buildings. Festive fires brightened the town, but they only existed in the corner of his blue eyes. He knew that it had to have been at least a few years because Weiss looked and older and bigger since he last saw him, but he had no idea what Nero looked like now. Upon thinking of the younger brother, Genesis gasped and kept walking, opting to listen in on what people were saying, and ask any questions he could without revealing who he was. He still couldn't afford to take any risks.

He remembered Kalm being considerably smaller, and a lot less damaged since he last saw it. He knew that no place was immune to war, but Kalm? Not even the most battle hungry warrior would think of attacking a place known only for a nice inn, and a few shops thrown in for good measure.

"It makes me sick to think of how much misery they caused," a woman behind Genesis said.

"Who?" He turned toward her. She stood with a few other people and they all looked like they'd been through trauma that would take years to recover from.

The woman blinked. "Who? Have you been living under a rock? Deepground, of course."

/Why, yes, dear lady, I actually have been living under a rock. Deep under the ground, in fact/, Genesis wanted to say, but he didn't. Instead, he nodded. "Might as well have. I just got here, and I'm just looking for answers. Why was this town attacked?"

He didn't like the answers he heard, and when he found that Deepground attacked the whole world, he flat out hated the answers. Kidnappings, the "pure", Geostigma, monsters, horrible soldiers, and since these were mere townspeople, Genesis knew that what they were saying was the tip of the iceberg. When the woman mentioned that the WRO would know more, he simply gave his thanks and moved on, about ready to crack up when he found out that WRO meant "World Regenesis Organization." A part of him thought that maybe it was about him and the hope that he would help rebuild the world. It's the least he could do, he figured as he continued walking through the wrecked town, listening in on everything from gossip to grumblings about Shinra, Deepground, and all those who suffered because of both.

"If it's not one thing, it's another," he muttered, wondering about Sephiroth. No one mentioned him, and Genesis didn't feel like asking about his former friend. Not now. He had plenty of questions with answers that added even more questions. He didn't doubt that the Silver General would add to the equation eventually, but people in Kalm only talked about Deepground, especially the Tsviets.

As soon as he heard that word grumbled admist beer and bonfires, he stiffened. When he heard "Nero the Sable" and disappearing WRO soldiers, his blood ran cold. He remembered Weiss's younger brother, knowing full well that he always would, even if a million years passed. Genesis heard some other names like Rosso, Azul, and Shelke, but they meant nothing to him, except as reminders of what researchers did with his "Project G" genes. He did, however, note with interest that Rosso's took the color red and painted the town with it. Black and red; those were Genesis's favorite colors. He wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry from the bitter irony. Genesis did neither, of course. Instead, he thought of Nero.

The boy had been polite when they first met, but he exuded a power that Genesis had never seen in anyone so young. In fact, he never saw it in anyone, not even in Sephiroth. He also noted with amusement, that Nero spoke in a stilted, poetic manner, but his voice--Genesis shook that memory out of his head, or at least tried to. He sensed that neither of the brothers meant any harm, but Nero made his heart almost stop by simply looking at him. Despite his own legendary prowess, Genesis knew that certain people simply weren't messed with, and he realized the easy way that Nero ranked close to the top, if not the top, of the list.

Weiss had a similar aura, but his was a little more common. Sure, he exuded charisma as if it could form its own being, but Genesis could name at least a couple people that shined in a similar light. Genesis simply thought, "star athlete type" and that's all he needed to think. He seriously doubted much had changed with Weiss, except for being an actual Emperor.

"Emperor..." Genesis sighed, not out of surprise, but rather knowing that someone with such a rank would be difficult on the best of days. He got a taste of it barely a couple hours ago. "He has guts, I'll give him that."

----

Weiss did exactly what he said he would do. No, he didn't flood out the hotel or destroy the toilet, but he stayed in the shower for so long that he lost track of time--something he rarely did. Quite naturally, he didn't crack open his skull, but he scrubbed like he had radiation on him and didn't stop until the soap vanished. He scrubbed whatever clothes he had too, especially the whiskey cloak. Weiss associated such alcohol with everything wrong in the world. His brother, however, never agreed. He even remembered Nero talking about how "Jack knew and understood." Weiss swallowed any hint of lumps in his throat. He saw his brother in his mind's eye. Nero still slept, but he stirred a bit.

"Rest, Nero," he whispered after the shampoo disappeared in his white hair. He bit his lip so he wouldn't be tempted to say anything more. He knew that if he did, he'd burst into a pool tears and he couldn't have that, not with Genesis around.

By the time he finally finished, he could barely see his hand in front of his face, thanks to the endless amount of steam, but he felt clean, which Weiss considered next to divine. He didn't see Genesis in the room and he thanked the powers that be for that. For once, he didn't feel like being stared at as he crawled into warm, soft bed. He didn't even look at himself in the mirror, also unusual for the Immaculate Emperor. Weiss just wanted to sleep, enter the dream world, and hold his younger brother.

---

When Genesis finally returned to the room, his jaw almost dropped to the floor. He slowly walked around the bed, realizing that the moon had to have been in love with Weiss. He looked peacefully radiant under its shine as his white hair spilled over the pillow. Genesis recalled looking at Sephiroth under the same light.

"Absolutely gorgeous."

Genesis never said it, but he sure thought it, knowing full well that he'd be doing it pretty often. /No wonder he is known as the Immaculate. He went from pretty duck to perfect swan/. "Goddess..." The Crimson General leaned against the window, deciding to risk his tongue. "There is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the goddess. Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds." Weiss moved a bit, but didn't wake up. Relieved, Genesis looked over at the old cloak hanging over the opened bathroom door, and decided that the younger man would look even better in a White Mage's robe. He wondered what Nero looked like now, but couldn't imagine him looking that much different than the last time Genesis saw him. Sure, the boy was good-looking in his own right, but his eyes--Genesis again stopped thinking about it. Yes, Nero could rival Weiss in the appearance department, but he didn't shine at all.

"Why does it matter now?" Genesis shook his head. He had no idea what Weiss was talking about when he mentioned Nero being inside of him, except that it had to have meant that the younger brother had died somehow. Only, one doesn't wake up after dying, they go to the Lifestream. Genesis sighed, realizing that he had so many questions, he couldn't begin to count how many.

"What are you looking at?"

Genesis gasped, his heart tightening at Weiss's sleepy voice. The new "brother" still had his eyes closed, but he couldn't have been completely asleep. Irritated at being startled, Genesis simply said, "You."

Weiss covered his eyes with one of his arms. "Me?" He chuckled. "Don't get any ideas." He rolled over, making sure that he covered almost all of the bed.

"Don't flatter yourself," Genesis replied as he removed his cloak. He had to admit, he was attracted to the Immaculate young man, but he had no intention of doing anything more than just stare. Genesis had a feeling that Weiss was off-limits to just about everyone, including him. "We leave in the morning. I have a lot of questions to ask you." He tossed the cloak and his red coat over a chair and removed the rest of his clothes. "We need to head to some place called Edge." A few people in Kalm had spoken of that place and how it surrounded Midgar. He knew that it was risky, but he felt confident that it would pay off since he'd have a much better chance of figuring out what was going on since his slumber and what the hell to do now.

He grabbed a bed sheet that fell on the floor and flopped on the couch. A part of him felt a bit irritated that he allowed Weiss to take over the bed, but thoughts of Angeal calmed him. Genesis wondered with amusement how Angeal would have dealt with Weiss and Nero. He knew that his best friend would have refused to join Deepground without hesitation, but would Angeal have tolerated Weiss's mouth? Probably. Genesis pressed his lips together. Angeal had always been the "long suffering one". No one in Kalm mentioned either one of them, not that it surprised him much since they seemed to have forgotten Sephiroth.

/That means he's dead along with Angeal/. Genesis closed his eyes, knowing full well that it couldn't have been for the same reason his childhood friend died. He knew that there was no way Sephiroth would have stopped at Nibelheim. Yes, he knew that the Silver General had been defeated there, but there was no way he would have been defeated easily. Genesis didn't believe for a single moment that he was dead. Weiss suffered a brutal loss and he didn't die, so why would Sephiroth? Genesis groaned. Yet another question.

/Whatever/. He decided to sleep on it since he had nothing better to do in the middle of the night.


End file.
